RESUMEN
Minimally adhesive polymers are being developed as potential coatings for use in the marine environment. A 'bioprobe', the bacterium Psychrobacter sp. strain SW5, was employed to detect heterogeneities in substratum hydrophobicity at a micrometer level, rather than the millimeter level detected by traditional contact angle measurements. This novel assay was based on substratum-induced shifts in bacterial morphology and was used to demonstrate that characteristics of these surfaces can be evaluated for maintenance of parameters such as low surface free energy as well as temporal stability when immersed in water. Immersion of developmental substrata in artificial seawater for up to 90d prior to testing with the bioprobe potentially affects the stability of the designed characteristics of the polymers. It is proposed that the shifts in cell and biofilm morphology results from changes influencing the surface hydrophobicity of the polymers. An unpredicted outcome of this testing was the detection of modifications to coatings inferred by the addition of filler particles. Exposure of coatings to the natural microbial community of seawater revealed colonization characteristics that substantiate the results obtained by using the bioindicator.
RESUMEN
Microbial adhesion to animate or inert surfaces is potentially mediated by nonspecific physical or specific ligand-receptor interactions. Growth and survival of the microbial community or biofilm then depends on adaptation to a series of changing environmental milieux. Within the realm of cell-cell interaction, recent advances suggest that flagella, fimbriae and other protein receptors are essential for bacterial attachment to surfaces. There has also been profound progress in the elucidation of genes and molecules necessary for bacterial attachments to surfaces and subsequent biofilm formation.
Asunto(s)
Adhesión Bacteriana/genética , Fenómenos Fisiológicos Bacterianos , Contaminación Ambiental , Proteínas Bacterianas/fisiología , Biopelículas , Pared Celular/fisiología , Fimbrias Bacterianas/fisiología , Flagelos/fisiología , Regulación Bacteriana de la Expresión GénicaRESUMEN
A protocol was developed to achieve the simultaneous determination of gene expression and bacterial identity at the level of single cells; a chromogenic beta-galactosidase activity assay was combined with in situ hybridization of fluorescently labelled oligonucleotide probes to rRNA. The method allows monitoring of gene expression and quantification of beta-galactosidase activity in single cells.
Asunto(s)
Bacterias/enzimología , Bacterias/genética , Técnicas Bacteriológicas , Expresión Génica , Bacterias/citología , Escherichia coli/citología , Escherichia coli/enzimología , Escherichia coli/genética , Hibridación Fluorescente in Situ , Moraxella/citología , Moraxella/enzimología , Moraxella/genética , Sondas de Oligonucleótidos , beta-Galactosidasa/metabolismoRESUMEN
The effects of surfaces on the physiology of bacteria adhering to surfaces or immobilized within biofilms are receiving more interest. A study of the effects of hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrata on the colonization behavior of a marine bacterium, SW5, revealed major differences in the morphology of SW5 on these surfaces. Using epifluorescence, scanning confocal laser, and on-line visualization (time-lapse video) microscopy, the organisms at hydrophobic surfaces were characterized by the formation of tightly packed biofilms, consisting of single and paired cells, whereas those at hydrophilic surfaces exhibited sparse colonization and the formation of chains more than 100 microns long, anchored at the surface by the terminal (colonizing) cell. The results are discussed in terms of the possible factors inducing the observed morphological differences and the significance of these differences in terms of biofilm structure and plasmid transfer when SW5 is the recipient organism.